Coke-oven door mechanism



Oct. 10, 1939.

G. E. sALKvls'r 2,175,217

COKE-OVEN DOOR MECHANISM Filed March 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Gum-AF EowmJAx.. KvlsT.

ATTORNEY.

Oct- 10, 1939- G. E. sALKvlsT COKE-OVEN DOOR MECHANISM Filed March 6, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 was INVENTOR. GUSTAF Eowm 5A1 v|sT ATTORNEY,

Patented Oct. 10, 1939 2,175,217l cons-OVEN Doon MEoHANIsM Gusta! Edwin Salkvist, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Koppers Company, a corporation of Delaware Application March 6, 1937, Serial No. 129,337

9 Claims.

The present invention relates to coking retort ovens and pertains more especially to the latching means employed to retain the doors of horizontal coke ovens in closed and sealed position during that period of oven operation in which the carbonization reaction is in progress.

In the operations of latching the doors of horizontal coking ovens and sealing them from the atmosphere, it has been customarily the practice in the prior art to effect both these steps, in those instances where the oven doors have been provided at their peripheries with a yielding sealing means such as asbestos or a relatively flexible metallic edge, by means of an inflexible member such as a metallic bar, or the like, that was adjustably mounted on the door so as to be adapted to engage a therefor provided arresting means such as for example, hooks that were affixed to the oven wall face-plates or the buckstays, said hooks being so disposed in respect of the inflexible latch-bar as'to arrest the same at some preferred place within the limits of movement assigned to it. The two latch-bars, which have been generally furnished for each door, have been usually provided with means for moving them in a plane parallel with the door and in another plane perpendicular thereto so that these movements could be employed respectively to move the latch-bars out of engagement with the latchhooks and to alter the position of said latch-bar With respect to the latch-hooks and the oven door. This latter movement served as means whereby the latch-bar could be brought into or removed from pressure-contact-With the latchhooks and has been furnished by diverse devices, such as, for example, by co-acting threaded parts inter-disposed in such manner that movements thereof in respect of each other were transmitted directly to the latch-bar to cause it to change its spatial relationship with respect to the door and the latch-hooks; and pressure established between the threaded parts was utilized to force the latch-bar against the latch-hooks. while the resulting force acting in the opposite direction served to hold and adjust the door in the mouth of the oven.

Actuation of the threaded parts by the manual means of the prior art was not entirely satisfactory because the pressure created between the threaded parts became a quantity that varied with the individual strength and responsibility of the d'fferent operators, with the result that the sealing means attached to the oven door was not always assured of being forced against the door frame with the same pressure after each operation of pushing coke. To provide means for overcomingthis circumstance, a helical spring has more recently been interposed between the door and the latch-bar. The pressure of this spring against the latch-bar forced the latter into pres- 5 sure-contact with the latch-hooks which in turn held the oven door in the mouth of the coking chamber. The spring was so disposed for actuation by positive mechanical means that the pressure established between the latch-bar and its 1o associated door-hooks could always be limited to a predetermined quantity which is also susceptible of variation as required or preferred. This improvement is set forth in the co-pendlng application of Ragnar Berg and Gusta! Edwin Sal- 15 kvist applied for December 23, 1936, and assigned Serial Number 117,270.

An object of the present improvement is the provision of a latching means for coke oven doors which will have the advantages oiered by a spring-actuated latch-bar of the type disclosed in the above-mentioned co-pending application but which will be of simplified and cheaper construction and likewise have the advantage of easy adaptability to actuation by mechanical means.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of latching means which will be adapted to establish substantially the same pressure between the sealing member of the door and the door frame whenever the oven door is returned to closed and sealed position after its removal from the mouth of the coking chamber, and which will furthermore be susceptible oi' adjustment so that the pressure of the latching means against the door may be varied when and as preferred. The invention has for further objects such other operating advantages and results as may be found to obtain in the processes or results hereinafter described or claimed;

According to the present inventionI provide latching means for coke-oven doors by means of which desirable functions performed by the inflexible latch-bar of the prior art acting in comp bination with the elastic member of the above referred to co-pending application, are achieved by a single member instead of by two. In my improvement, I substitute a flexible latch-bar for the relatively inflexible one of the prior art and in its preferred form saidflexible latch-bar is formed as a multiple-leafed spring which is adapted for engagement by the latch-hooks in much the same manner as the formerly employed relatively rigid latch-bar, and my improvement further provides that the flexible latch-bar may be movably mounted 4on the oven 55 frame` door or employed unailixed thereto as preferred. The flexible latch-bar or spring-latch of my invention is of sufficient strength that, when flexed by latching engagement, adequate pressure is exerted between the door-hooks and the oven door to hold the latter within the oven mouth and tightly retain the peripheral sealing means in sealed gas-tight engagement against the door For those instances in which it is preferred to have the spring-latch of invention mounted on the oven door, I provide simple and effective mechanical means whereby it may be adjusted into a position permitting facile removal of the door from the coking chamber and means whereby the pressure it exerts on the door and the sealing means may be altered when desired.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speciiication and showing for purposes of exempliiication a preferred apparatus and method in which the invention may be embodied and practised but without limiting the claimed invention specically to such illustrative instance or instances:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a coke-oven door of the self-sealing type in operating position at the end of a coking chamber and supported by latching means constructed according to one embodiment of the improvement provided by the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along the line II--II of Figure- 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to that illustrated in Figure 1 and showing another form in which the present invention may be embodied; the latching means in this instance being adapted for actuation by either manual or power-driven means;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken along the line IV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken along the line V-V of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 3;

Figure 7 is a vertical section on line VII- VII of Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a vertical section on line VIII- V111 of Figure 6.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts in each of the views of the drawings.

In the following exposition of the present improvement, the subject of invention will be described in combination with a coke-oven door of the self-sealing type for it is in association with this class of oven doors that the improved latching means has one of its most important applications, but it is understood however that the herein disclosed embodiments thereof may be employed with advantage in combination with coke oven doors of other designs and more especially so in those instances where` it is of import to be able to control and regulate the pressure and the nature of the contact established between the oven door and its co-acting door frame.

In the figures, the oven door II) is shown in operating position at the end of a horizontal coking oven II where it serves to close the substantially vertically disposed mouth of the chamber and to seal it against ingress of air and escape therefrom of volatilized products of the distillation process. The mouth of the oven at each end of the coking chamber is surrounded by a protecting layer of metal which is formed by the ribbed face-plates I2 that cover the' Outer surface of the jamb-bricks I3 positioned at each end of the heating walls between which coking chamber II lies. The face-plates I2 are held in position against the jamb-bricks by the buckstays I4 in the well-known manner. The latchhooks I 5 are affixed to the ribs I6 of the faceplates. 'I'he inner edges of the face-plates adjacent the periphery of the mouth of the coking chamber are each formed as a substantially plane surface I'I that extends entirely around this opening of the coking chamber and lies substan'- tially perpendicular to the median plane of the oven to form a frame for the door. When the oven door I0 is in closed and sealed position, the door-plugr I8 of refractory material extends for some distance into the coking chamber II and serves to protect its supporting door-casting I9 from direct contact with the high temperatures obtaining in thecoking chamber. Adjacent the periphery of the door and attached thereto is the sealing frame 20 which comprises a plurality of exible metal sheets supporting at their free edge the angle iron 2| which is provided with the narrow edge 22 that extends entirely around the oven door and which in operating position rests in pressure-contact with the plane surface I1 of the door frame. Screws 23 are positioned at intervals around the door and serve as means for forcing the sealing edge to conform to unevenness or distortion that may develop in the surface Il after continued operation in consequence of heat radiated from the oven chamber or of bumpings of the door thereagainst in irresponsible operating practice. The sharp edge of the sealing frame should always rest adjacent the door-frame with suiiicient pressure to prevent the escape of volatilized products from the oven through the interspace between the door-plug and the oven wall, as for example at 24.

'Ihe pressure with which the sealing frame is 4 brought into contact with its co-acting door frame is provided by the latchng means and is produced by moving the latch-bar into pressure-contact with the door-hooks, and the greater the movement of the latch-bar in the direction of the latch-hooks after contact is established therebetween, the greater will be the force reacting in the opposite direction that presses the sealing-frame of the door against the door frame. If the latch-bar employed is the substantially inilexible one used in prior practice, relatively small movements thereof will cause great increase in the pressure with which the door and the sealing-frame are brought into contact. With the exible latch-bar of my invention, and depending upon its design, more or less of the movement of the latch actuating mechanism, after contact between it and the latch-hooks has been established, can be utilized in the bending of the flexible latch-bar, with the result that for the production of a given pressure between the door and the door-frame, greater movement of the actuating mechanism is required when employing the flexible latch-bar of the invention, than when an inilexible one is used. My invention consequently makes possible improved renement in the adjusting and regulating of the pressure established between the co-acting sealing members, and advantageously functions as a sort of cushion for protecting the 7 relatively least rugged part of the door from subjection to pressures that may cause permanent warping and distortion, and as an important aid in holding pressures impressed thereon within preferred limits.

armar:

In its preferred embodiment, the nexible latchbar of my present improvement is formed from a plurality of spring-leaves held together in such Figures 1 and 2, or it may be movably mounted in xed relation on the door and provided with an actuating means which is also attached to said door as shown in Figure 6. In the former instance therefore means for removing the spring-latch from and returning it to operating position must be supplied by a mechanism extraneous of the door and such device is the subject of a separate application Serial Number 129,336, filed by applicant of event date herewith, March 6, 1937.

Referring now to Figure 5 showing one form in which my present invention may be embodied, the door-casting I9 supports two brackets 25 that are attached to said casting by bolts 25, one of said brackets being positioned near the top of the casting and the other adjacent the lower part thereof. 'I'he spring-latches 21, comprising an assembly of spring-leaves 23, are each removably positioned between the door-hooks l5 and the door I0 and are so disposed as tobear against a surface of the bracket at their center, and at each extremity against the adjacent latch-hook. The pressure exerted by the springlatchs resistance to flection is thus employed to support the door I 3 in the mouth of the coking chamber and to hold the sealing-edge 22 of the sealing-frame rmly against the door-frame. The graduated leaves are assembled into a spring-latch substantially as shown in the drawings. The channel-shaped case 29 and the leaves are held within the yoke 30 by thestud-bolt 3i. When the spring-latch is in operating position and exerting pressure between the door and the` latch-hooks, the yoke 33 is pressing against the surface 32 of the bracket 25 and the ends of the longest spring-leaf are pressing against the latch-hooks, as shown. 'I'he outer'ends of the channel case 29 are so formed that they will bear directly against the longest spring-leaf adjacent its extremities. To remove the spring-latch from its operating position between the door and the door-hooks, these members must be first relieved of`the pressure of the spring-latch against them. This I do by means of a clamping mechanism (not shown) which bears on the surface oi' the yoke from one side and the channel-casing at the other. By compressing the clamping mechanism about the spring-latch, the yoke and the rigid channel-casing are forced closer together and in so doing, the latter bears on the vspringleaves at points 33 causing them to be bent toward the oven door. This operation thus removes yoke 30 and spring-latch 21 from con- Y tact respectively with the bracket 25 and the door-hooks I5, so that said spring-latch is free to be lifted upward and out of 'operating position.- Pressure between the ovendoor and the door-frame is thereby relieved and the door is free to be removed from the mouth of the oven. The simplest effective device for carrying out this operation of removing the spring-latches by mechanical means has been developed and is th subject of the separate application Serial Number 129,336 flied by applicant, as hereinbefore mentioned.

'Ihe just-described embodiment of the present 3 improvement in coke-oven door latching-means has the advantage of great simplicity. There are no working parts attached to the door that require constant lubrication. The latch is very cheap as to construction costs and more especially so by reason of the fact that it is not necessary to furnish each latch individually with an expensively machined actuating means'.

For those instances in which it is preferred to supply each spring-latch with an individual actu ating means so that each latch is an independently operable unit that can be operated without the assistance of an extraneous mechanism, the ernbodiment of my invention shown in Figure 6 is provided. Referring now to Figure 6 and the therein disclosed embodiment oi.' the invention, the spring-latch 2l comprises a plurality of semielliptically shaped spring-leaves 28 that are contained within the channel-casing 29, both of which are supported in the yoke 40 by means of the stud-bolt 4l. Yoke 40 is rotatably mounted on the door so as to provide movement for the spring-latch in a plane parallel with the plane of the door. For this purpose, the bracket 42 which is amxed to the door by bolts 43, is furnished with a threaded central apeiture that is adapted to receive the sleeve 44 provided with threads on the external surface thereof. 'I'he lock-nut 45 permits the locking of the sleeve at a preferred position in the bracket 42. Yoke 40 terminates in a pin-like section 46 that is disposed to fit rotatably into sleeve 44, and is retained therein by means of threaded collar 41 that is screwed onto the short threaded section at the end of said pin-like section of said yoke, said collar being kept from turning by the headless screw 43 that functions as a Dutch key. This arrangement provides for easy rotation of the yoke in its supporting bracket and likewise for the yoke-supported spring-latch. By screwing the sleeve 44 inward or outward within the central aperture of the bracket, the position of the spring-latch 21 can be altered in respect of the door and the door-hooks, and the pressure that said latch is permitted to exert between these two members thereby limited to the preferred amount.

I'hat section of yoke 40 on the opposite side of the spring-latch from the oven door is provided with a coarse threadedsection 49 of the Acme type and preferably with a double thread. The hub 50 is adapted for rotation in the threads of section 49 by means of a short threaded section 5I at its inner end. The middle. section of the hub is turned to give an over-running or sliding fit over the top of the threads of section 49 so as not to rotate the section 49 by the middle section when the middle section rotates within the plane of the inner periphery of the threads. The outer section 52 of the hub is preferably of square cross-section and crank 53 is xedly mounted thereon; said outer section of the hub is preferably of suillcient length not only to carry said `cranking member but alsoto permit application of a wrench or ratchet for turning it manually. Crank 53 is provided for rotating hub 50 by some suitable power-driven mechanical means such as for example a rotatable arm that is adapted to engage said crank.

When crank 53 is rotated in the proper direction, the hub will advance through the threads of the yoke-section 49 and eventually emerge therefrom to press against washer 54 that is positioned between said yoke-section and the channel-case 29. As the crank continues to be rotated, the pressure of the hub .and washer against the rigid channel-casing will increase and cause it to press against the assembly oi spring-leaves at points 55. With suflicient increase of pressure, the ends of the longest leaves will in this manner finally be moved out of contact with the latch-hooks and thus leave the yoke and thereon mounted springlatch free to be turned in the sleeve 44 that is mounted in the supporting bracket 42 and permit the withdrawal of the door from the oven mouth.

The threaded section of the hub is comparatively short and isdesigned of just suflicient length that at such time as said section has passed entirely through the threaded section of the yoke, the spring-latch will be removed suiciently from contact with the latch-hooks to permit its being rotated in the plane of the oven door. Consequently the hub may be then subjected to any amount of further rotation without -stressing either the spring assembly or the channel-casing beyond their limits of strength. When returning the door to sealed position, the spring-latch is rotated into engagement with the latch-hooks, the crank 53 is then rotated in a direction the reverse of that employed during the un-latching operation, thereby relieving the pressure impressed by the channel-casing against the springassembly and allowing the latter to move into contact with the latch-hooks; this movement forces the door into the mouth of the oven and brings the sealing-frame into contact with the door-frame. The re-entry of the threaded section of the hub into the threads o1' the yoke is greatly facilitated by the pressure of the channelcasing and the washer 54 against'the threaded end of saidl hub. When the hub has completely re-entered the threads of the yoke, there is no object in further rotating the same, and if the turning has been effected by means of a powerdriven mechanism that engaged the crank 53, such for example as one actuated by electricity, the current may be cut off at that time by a limit switch adapted for actuation by the length of travel of the hub during the' operations of opening and closing the latching means.

The pressure exerted between the latch-hooks and the oven door by the spring-latch of the invention is capable of adjustment and either its maximum exertive pressure may be employed or only a fraction thereof. By moving sleeve 44 inward or outward in its supporting bracket, the force which the spring-latch exerts on the latchhooks may be respectively diminished or increased. Washers 54 may be replaced by others having diierent thicknesses, and the pressure exerted upon the leaves of the spring-latch by channel-casing 29 and hub 50 thereby varied so as to provide sufficient bending of the springleaves that they will be removed from contact with the latch-hooks a distance which will allow facile disengagement of the former from the latter.

The hereinabove described invention furnishes an improved mechanism for latching coke oven doors in closed and sealed position. Its special features provide means whereby the pressure established between the sealing means of the door and its co-acting door frame can be regulated with improved accuracy so that the less rugged parts of the door will not be subjected to stresses and strains they have not been adapted to resist. By means of my invention oven doors can be returned repeatedly to substantially the same position in the oven mouth and with the same pressure between co-acting parts that obtained in prior settings of lthe door. Means for adjustments are provided which allow compensations for wear or for departures from average measurements that may be encountered in the diiferent ovens comprising a battery thereof so that the invention does not interfere with the interchanging of the doors of a battery of ovens. The improvement has the further advantages of simplicity and cheapness of construction and the weight of materials required is reduced from that used by former assemblages that were designed to produce analogous operating results. In contrast to the rigid latch-bars of the prior art, the flexible and resilient spring-latch of the invention is better adapted to conform to fluctuations, which may arise for any reason during the carbonization period, from the pressure originally established, between the oven door and its coacting door frame, when said door was seated in the oven mouth.

'Ihe invention as hereinabove set forth is embodied in particular form and manner but may be variously embodied within the scope of the claims hereinafter made.

I claim:

1. In combination with a coking retort oven having a doorway and a moveable door for closing the same, means for latching said door in said doorway to close it, said means comprising: hook means positioned on either side of the doorway that are independent of the door; a flexible and resilient bar-shaped member that is mounted on the door and adapted to span it transversely for engagement with said hook means when said member is interposed therebetween and the door, said member being formed from a plurality of plates held together to co-act as a spring; and means for actuating said member whereby it may be both flexed and released for respectively removing and restoring contact therebetween and the hook means.

2. In combination with a coking retort oven having a doorway and a moveable door for closing the same, means for latching said door in said doorway to close it, said .means comprising:

hook means positioned on either side of the doorway that are independent of the door; a exible and resilient bar-shaped member that is mounted on the door and adapted to span it transversely for engagement with said hook means when said member is interposed therebetween and the door, said member being formed from a plurality of plates held together to co-act as a spring; and another member that is disposed to exert pressure intermittently on said bar-shaped member in such manner as to move it into and out of contact with said hook means.

3. In combination with a coking retort oven having a doorway and a moveable door for closing the same, means for latching said door in said doorway to close it, said means comprising; hook means positioned on either side of the doorway that are independent of the door; a flexible and resilient bar-shaped member that is mounted on the door and adapted to span it transversely for engagement with said hook means when said member is interposed therebetween and the door, said member being formed from a plurality of plates held together to co-act as a spring; a channel-like casing for said member that is disposed to be brought into and removed from contact with the bar-shaped member in such manner as to move said member into and out of contact with the hook means; and means for actuating the channel-like casing, said means comprising, a yoke surrounding said casing and provided with an internally threaded section adjacent that side of the bar-shaped member disposed for pressurecontact with said casing, and a rotatable threaded hub adapted to co-act with the threads of said yoke and in such manner that, depending upon the direction of rotation, the casing can be both pressed against and removed from contact with the bar-shaped member. v

4. In combination with a coking retort oven having a doorway and a moveable door for closing the same, means for securing the door to close said doorway comprising a latch-bar and retainer means therefor, said llatch-bar being constituted as a bar-shaped latch member that is adapted to be exed intermediate its ends that is adapted to communicate with the door and to span it transversely for engagement with the retainer means for said latch-bar, said retainer means being independent of the door and positioned on opposite sides of the doorway, so that pressure exerted against said retainer means by said flexible and resilient member, when it is ilexed therebetween and the door, will tend to press the moveable door into the doorwa 5. In a coking retort oven provided with an opening through which coke is intermittently discharged and with a moveable door adapted to close said opening against escape of products of distillation, latching means for securing said door in said opening comprising, hook means positioned on opposite sides of the opening of said oven and a latch-bar therefor, said latch-bar being constituted as a flexible bar-shaped latch memberV that is disposed to resile intermediate its ends and having means for exerting flexible force thereto intermediate its ends, said latch member being disposed so that it is itself adapted both to engage the hook means and to exert pressure against the door and said hook means simultaneously.

6. In combination with a coking retort oven having a doorway and a moveable door for closing the same, means for securing the door to close said doorway comprising a latch-bar and retainer means therefor, said latch-bar being constituted as a laminated latch-bar that is disposed both to communicate with the door and to itself engage retainer means therefor that are positioned on opposite sides of said doorway and independently of the door, the laminae of said latch-bar being free to slide on those adjacent so that said latchhaving a doorway and bar can yield to uctuations of pressure impressed thereupon.

7. In combination with a coking retort oven having a doorway and a door for closing the same, latching means for securing said door to close said doorway comprising a latch-bar and retainer means therefor, said latch-bar being constituted of a multiple leaf-spring adapted to extend between opposite sides of the door and itself engage the retainer means therefor positioned at opposite sides of the doorway and independently of the door, said multiple leaf-spring being also adapted to exert pressure against the door and the arresting means for the spring when it is interposed therebetween.

8. In combination with a coking retort oven a door for closing the same, latching means adapted to secure said door in said doorway, and comprising: hook means, positioned on opposite sides of the doorway, that are independent of the door; a bracket aiiixed to the door; a yoke supported by said bracket; a plurality of plates assembled to co-act as a spring, and of which plates at least one is adapted for engagement with the hook means; and a channel-like casing for said plates that is itself disposed Within said yoke and is also adapted for establishing pressure-contact with the hook-engaging plates at -points thereon, so that said plates can be moved into and out of conatct with the hook means by a preferred adjustment of pressure applied to the casing.

9. In combination with a coking retort oven having a doorway and a moveable door for closing the same, latching means adapted to secure said door in said doorway, and comprising: hook means, positioned on opposite sides'of the doorway, that are independent of the door; a. bracket amxed to the door; a yoke rotatably supported by said bracket .and capable of adjustable movement in a plane substantially perpendicular to the door: a plurality of plates assembled to co-act as a spring and of which plates at least one is adapted for engagement with the hook means; and a channel-like casing for said plates that is itself disposed within said yoke and is also adapted for establishing pressure-contact with the hook-engaging plates at points thereon, so that said plates can withthehook means bya preferred adjustment of pressure applied to the casing.

GUSTAF EDWIN SALKVIST.

be moved into and out of contact 

